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Agent Office
Classes, Training Online
Exciting new offering! Now you
can keep an audio/video recording of all 10 hours
of your class for only $99 more!
Classes
...also offered...
This is an online course using
"GoToMeeting"
to facilitate conference calling and the Internet
to view Agent Office on my computer, while I am demonstrating it, live.
This course consists of 5 classes of 2 hours each, one day a week, for 5 weeks.
There are weekly handouts, and weekly homework assignments. The cost is
$249. The maximum number of students per class is 10.
Other details:
...Gary, I hope
you read this. I want to publicly acknowledge all of your help. You were always
very generous with your time and expertise, both during the actual sessions in
the course and outside of them. I never could have gotten that from a book. Many
thanks! I look forward to seeing what courses/offerings you may add in the
future."
Lisa Kilfoil - Houlihan Lawrence
Real Estate Centers
"I have been using and teaching Agent Office (formerly known as Online Agent) -
Agent 2000 - Executive Agent- since 1995. I used a similar product
to help me do 45 transactions a year when I was a RE/MAX agent from 1989 through
1995. I then automated an agent and his team, who did 140 transactions the
year I was with him. One of my tasks was to learn Online Agent/Agent Office, set
it up to run his business, and then train him and his team on how to use it.
I have trained agents & teams, around the country, and the entire Southeastern
PA & Delaware RE/MAX Region how to use it ever since. Through all this, I
have developed a truly thorough grasp of what you can do with it, and what you
can't.
As I am also involved in many other aspects of Real Estate & Technology,
including Web sites, Real Estate law, and many current topics, I incorporate a
good deal of additional information into my classes, that make the software even
more usable.
Once, and only once, someone returned Agent Office,
after having had it a short time. He returned it to the source, and
e-mailed me to inform me at the same time. His reason was a list of 10
things he wanted it to do for him, but which he found it could not do.
I e-mailed him back, and told him I wished he had
e-mailed me first, before returning it. It does 9 of the 10 things he
wanted it do.
My classes will, at the very least, show you
everything that can be done with it, and then show you how do it better,
smarter, and faster. I'll point out silly glitches, and workarounds.
How 'they' recommend you do things, and how I recommend you do things."
Gary Hall, e-PRO Certified Trainer, RECS, GRI
Why do
you need to use Agent Office more comprehensively?
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So you have a complete system to do any kind
of mailing, and track listings and sales from start to finish. When
you, or your assistant walks in, in the morning, an automatically
generated list of to-do's, calls, and mailings, will insure that no
regular detail with any listing or closing, falls through the cracks.
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This allows for quick and easy training of
assistants, and no-one being irreplaceable. Do you have an
in-office "Conveyancer", or other people that do some of the work for you
ala carte? What happens when they leave, or something happens to
them? Using your own software aided system ensures that your system
will not be in your head, or anyone else's. Your entire operation
will be run from, and backed up on, your own computer. THIS IS THE
ONLY WAY YOU CAN HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR BUSINESS!
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This establishes your business as a turn-key
operation for anyone wanting to purchase your business in the future.
The way Gary has always approached Agent Office
Training is not just which keys to hit to get things done, but equally
importantly, "How to use it to make more money, and save more time". To
this end, Gary intersperses many tips and tricks, not to be found in any manual,
throughout the course, that he has learned through it's use, and through
training hundreds of agents.
What will be covered follows in black. We WILL
cover 95% of what the vast majority of agents will use most.
What is NOT covered follows in
red. We will NOT
cover everything in Agent Office for 3 reasons:
1) It would take too long.
2) We would be reviewing
aspects of it that very few people ever use.
3) We would be reviewing
certain modules that some people can use, but most can't or won't.
Agent Utilities Menu: (Many agents do not
even realize this exists)
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File maintenance - Pack and Re-index your files
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Running Repair with install CD
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Agent Settings - Access and edit agent & assistant
settings such as, passwords, access rights, company name, address, phone
numbers, etc…
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Set commission defaults
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Set country specific settings, like Canada.
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Edit listing features template
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Add contact lookup fields
We will NOT cover:
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Move data files to another location. This
feature is used when moving the database to a new server. We will not cover
this.
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AccuSync settings - We will not
cover Synching with a PDA or using Accusynch. It's too unique to each user,
and too time consuming to include.
Contact Manager:
This is the core of the entire suite.
Every person you know should be in here. From past clients - to your
personal dentist. We will spend a good deal of time on how to "Categorize"
your prospects, and why NOT to use some of the fields provided in Agent Office.
Gary painstakingly developed a very specific group of "Categories" when he was
an agent, and refined them as he implemented them for agents doing hundreds of
transactions. How to group, or categorize the people in your database is a
science, and Gary has it down!
Field by field, we will review the entire contact
module (with a couple exceptions), and you will learn that there are many ways
to use the different fields. You will learn:
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Data Import - Functionally it's simple, but there
are definite tricks to getting this right!
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Data Export - One trick here.
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Global Edit - bring in a database, and then put them
all in a certain category. Also, if you find out you already have people
categorized wrong, this can save a tremendous amount of time.
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The best way to enter contacts. There
are many ways, and there is a great tip to very quickly answer the question -
"Who the heck was that Home Inspector?" - without having to do a search.
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How to use the Prefers E-Mail box.
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The best way to use the Status, Pri,
Buyer, Seller, Other, Source, and Farm Name fields.
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We will spend a good deal of time on the Category
field. This is the key to mastering the fastest and easiest ways to do
comprehensive and detailed searches for mailings, etc.
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Pick lists - why you need to use them consistently.
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How and when to use the "User Defined" fields.
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Printing an Amortization Schedule
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Writing letters, faxes, labels, etc., to a Group.
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Reports - Did you know you can print a report of
where your business is coming from? Learn how to print telephone lists and
Ancillary Service lists.
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Importing and exporting databases, lists of people,
farms, etc.
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Searches - Both Search by Example, and
creating Saved Groups such as "Sphere of Influence".
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How to view a letter or e-mail you sent to a
contact.
We will NOT cover:
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Buy/Sell Tab - It's superfluous to most agent's
needs. It takes more time to use it than it is worth. Just as well
to keep that info in notes.
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Financing Tab - It takes more time to use it than it
is worth. Just as well to keep that info in notes.
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Vendors Tab - No one uses it.
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Zip Forms/Win Forms/True Forms - We
will review what it does, but we will not get into the specifics of how to use
it. We would have to review 2 different forms softwares, and many people
don't use either one, so it would be a waste of their time to have to listen to
it.
E-Mail Module:
Are you maintaining one database of contacts in
Outlook Express or Outlook, and yet another in Agent Office? For the first
time, since Version 5.0, that is no longer necessary! You will learn how
to eliminate the need for all that duplication of effort.
E-mails coming from contacts, and going out to
contacts, should be filed with that contact. You can now do that! Be
careful though, there are still a couple "glitches". Gary will point out
what to watch out for until then.
Are you doing postal mailings on a regular basis?
Expensive isn't it! You'll learn how to automatically e-mail those
letters or promotional pieces to contacts with e-mail, instead of
paying all that postage.
User Setup Options: Tools, Setup Options
This is where you customize Agent Office to your
way of doing things. A very overlooked aspect of this software. From
here you can change your Phone Types, or have your city state and zip
fill in automatically when you create a new contact, change your User Defined
Fields; change your e-mail signature; edit all your picklists, get rid of
the login screen and much much more.
Scheduling an Activity:
Once again - from scheduling your listing
appointments, to your dentist appointment, or your family's birthdays - your
entire schedule should be in here. Learn how to schedule all types of
appointments, and recurring events, like reminders to back up your software, or
defragment your hard drive.
What priority should you assign? We'll talk
about that.
Calendar:
Completing and scheduling activities. Pretty
self explanatory, but there are a few tricks!
Desktop Module:
Again - pretty self explanatory, but there are a few
tricks!
Old Business:
If you had things scheduled, and did not complete
them, they will appear in this screen. You can reschedule them all to
today, or do any manner of things with them. Beats the heck out of
transferring things you didn't get to in your Daytimer's, to a new page!
Word Processor:
The Initial Default Letter is the template
from which new letters are created. You'll learn how to modify it, so that
it fits your letterhead.
There is a utility outside Agent Office that will
modify all existing letters to fit your letterhead as well.
There are two kinds of letters in Agent Office.
One is the form letters, the other is original letters you create for an
individual. We'll learn the difference, and when to use which.
The letter library contains over 130 letters.
You'll learn how to edit them, so that they fit your personality.
Personalized Form Letters? You'll learn a
great trick for creating your own merge fields, so that when a letter goes to
print, it will ask you what information you want in the field, to further
personalize it.
Plan Manager:
Action Plans are one of the primary reason you're
using Agent Office instead of Outlook, ACT, or any other non-real estate
specific contact manager software.
You have a list of To-do's that you perform
when you take a listing now. They may be in your head, or on a sheet
inside the cover of a file jacket, but they're there somewhere. With the
plan manager, you learn how to automatically schedule this list of to-do's on
your calendar. They will appear there on the appropriate days, based on
how you schedule the Plan. This is true of every aspect of your business,
from Agreement of Sale Plans, to Price Reductions Plans, to FSBO follow-up
plans. You'll learn how to use them, when to launch them, and why.
The first thing to do is delete the plans that came with the program. Why?
Come and find out!
You will also learn how to use these plans as a
dynamic "Operations Manual", for your staff.
See 'Trans-Plans'
Listing Manager:
Filling in every field in the listing module is a
waste of time, as you will never use much of it. There are three criteria
for deciding what should be filled in, and what should not. We will review
the criteria, while we are reviewing the fields, so you can decide which fields
you want to use.
If you have forms that are required for your office
that you now fill out by hand, you may want to look into designing, or having
Gary design, custom forms for you, so that you can print them from Agent Office,
with the information already filled out, rather than filling several forms out
with similar information. This is where the User Defined fields
come in, and we'll review that.
Depending upon how you deal with "Showing"
information, there is a great tool for recording showing appointments, which
automatically generates a follow-up call activity on your calendar. From
that you can generate a report for your seller.
There is a Photo Manager in this module, and a
variety of Property Brochures, Open House Fliers, and such, that can be printed
directly from it. We'll review that.
We will NOT cover:
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Seller Net Tab - Virtually no one uses it.
Teaching it to you would be a waste of your time. Your MLS usually
provides a much better tool for this.
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Commission Tab - easy enough to
figure ot, and too few people use it.
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CMA Comparable Tab - Not yet working with most
MLS's, the vast majority of people would not benefit by spending time on this.
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CMA Summary Tab - Same as above.
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Search Buyers Button - works in conjunction with the
Buy/Sell Tab in the Contact Module.
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Vendors Tab - An idea that never
came to fruition, so it's not really functional.
Sales Manager:
This module was actually not part of the original
program, so there some idiosyncrasies to using it. Gary will point them
out.
From here you can track your commissions. What
has settled year to date, what is pending to year end, etc.
Being prepared at the settlement/closing table makes
life much more pleasant. Using the Parties Tab allows you to go the
table with all the people and ancillary services associated with the
transaction, on one report. It can include all their names, numbers and
addresses, plus all notes, and completed items that have been added throughout
the transaction.
We will NOT cover:
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Contingencies Tab - Contingencies are accomplished
with the Activity Plans.
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Seller Net Tab - Virtually no one uses it. It
would be a waste of your time. Your MLS usually provides a much better
tool for this.
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Buyer Cost Tab - Virtually no one uses it.
Your MLS usually provides a much better tool for this.
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Vendors Tab - An idea that never
came to fruition, so it's not really functional.
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Commission Tab - easy enough to
figure ot, and too few people use it.
Presentation Designer:
From here you can design brochures, fliers, post
cards, custom forms, and pretty much anything you like. We'll show you how
to do it!
Checkbook Module:
This button should be redirected to your Checkbook
program such as Quicken or Quickbooks.
The checking module is far too simple for your needs, is virtually
non-functional, and I have heard they may delete it at some point. No one
uses this either.
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